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REVIEW: APC (American Power Conversion Corp) H15 Power Conditioner/Surge Protector

Model: H15
Category: Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Suggested Retail Price: $450 American, $525 Canadian
Description: APC H15 is their top line conditioner without internal battery. Rotel RLC 1040 is similar to this unit and is also made by APC.
Manufacturer URL: APC (American Power Conversion Corp)
Model Picture: View

Review by Hyfi on January 27, 2010 at 09:27:10
IP Address: 65.220.61.71
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for the H15


Initial thoughts on APC AV H15Home Theater Power Filter and Power Conditioner

Packaging- Double packed with foam, main carton heavy gauge cardboard, unit in plastic wrap with foam ends. Decent packaging.

Contents- Main unit, a few nice co-ax cables, book that lists features but not why and when you would want to set or change them. Nice beefy detached 12g Power Cord with rt angle plug. (forces you to only be able to use 1 outlet of a duplex depending if you’re a 3rd prong up or down kinda person)
Unit has a nice weight to it and the detachable cord is a nice feature since I could never figure how changing a component cord, but still plugging into a similar unit with non detachable cord would give any gains.

Setup- Easy enough, plug each component into its labeled outlet. One beef here, no always on outlet, they are all powered by switch. Also confusing, APC recommends leaving unit in ON position but does not state if it protects equipment while off, nor does it explain the need for delays in startup if it is to always be on. It says it’s guaranteed to protect equipment, but does not say it won’t if turned off.
I first set it to narrow for power setting but the Trim light was always on so I set it to Normal. Again, the manual does not explain why or when you use any of the 3 settings.
All the unnecessary bright blue lights are annoying and the overall look of the unit is just plain ugly and does not match other basic audio gear looks.

Details- Here is where this gets interesting. I really did not expect too much other than protection and a single turn on switch for my main rig. When I first powered everything up, I put Elements- Spirit River in the CDP and gave it a whirl. Mark Egan’s Bass sounded terrific, smooth detailed and deep. I had not listened to this disk for a while so I had no before and after for comparison but enjoyed the listen. Next I spun more recently listened to disks and got more surprises. Bass, deep-clearer-detailed bass as well as lots of other clearer midrange detail. Actually pretty amazing. The last disk I spun was a favorite comp by Finch, Primus Sucks! Tommy the Cat was unbelievably different sounding than I could ever remember. It’s real hard to explain the difference in sound but I guess it would be similar to replacing all the cords on your components at the same time. In essence, that is what you are doing along with the power filtering and voltage regulation.

Second day listening session consisted of several disks I had recently spun so I had some memory to compare to. Again, I am getting more controlled and detailed bass along with more detail and subtle sounds in mids and highs. I don't have the Sub plugged into this unit yet but signal sent from pre-amp appears to be improved. I plan to add that into the mix soon.

I don't have my HT going through this unit as it is separate and I don't need to power two systems all on at the same time if only using 1 so I cannot comment on any video improvements yet.

The last disk I spun last night was Yokeshire Masque of Shadows HDCD. Unbelievable improvements were quite noticeable.


Product Weakness: Cons- Ugly, no always on outlet, irritating bright blue LEDs that are not needed. They should be OFF by default and come on to signal something wrong, not the reverse as designed. Instructions are totally lacking and features are not explained as to why and when you would want to set things differently. If set in Narrow mode, and Trim light comes on and stays, you have to cycle through Wide and back to Normal to clear it.
Product Strengths: Pros- Warmer, more detailed overall sound and bass. Better overall soundstage and lower noise floor. Easy to setup and use.


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Counterpoint NPS-400
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): VAC CLA-1 MKII
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Rotel 1072 CDP
Speakers: Clearfield Continentals & Dynaudio Audience 84
Cables/Interconnects: Synergistic Research
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Prog-Jazz-Rock-Fusion
Room Size (LxWxH): 14 x 20 x
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 four hour sessions
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Dedicated Circuit
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Michael Percy Audio  


Topic - REVIEW: APC (American Power Conversion Corp) H15 Power Conditioner/Surge Protector - Hyfi 09:27:10 01/27/10 (6)

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